HM: Twice Betrayed
by Kallistos
Summary: HM64: Rick speaks of a girl, and Cliff speaks of betrayal, what if she were one in the same? RR
1. Around Town

Rick sighed as he hammered his egg detector. 'It will work this year,' he thought, as he replaced the hammer with a screwdriver, and started tightening the bolts. He looked up as the door opened, "I don't have anything to sell," he said, but then smiled as he realized that his visitor was none other than his cousin Gray.

"Hi…" he said as he walked over to the counter.

Rick moved from behind it and leaned against it facing his cousin, "hey," he said happily, Gray had recently married Popuri, and he had seen him less and less.

Gray nodded and leaned next to him, "Popuri is pregnant," he said quietly, Rick grinned Ann and Cliff had young daughter, and he knew that Popuri had been very anxious to catch up.

"That's great news," he said, but then frowned, "you don't seem very happy."

Gray sighed, "The ranch is getting crowded, and Popuri mentioned that she wanted her own place." Rick nodded, it was understandable; Popuri had grown up an only child and two parents only half the year.

"Does she want to move back to her mothers'?"

He shook his head, "I think she has her eye on Saibara's old place." Rick nodded, his neighbor, Saibara had recently passed on, and so the house was empty.

"What about Ann?" he asked, Gray was more protective of Ann then anything else in the world. He sighed, "Ann's a big girl, and I have a feeling that if Popuri isn't content, she'll leave with or without me."

Rick nodded, and was about to answer when the door opened again, "I'm out of stock," he called out, but Popuri came in anyway.

"There you are Gray," she said reprovingly, "I've been looking for you, don't you want to pick out names for the baby?"

He sighed and Rick patted him on the back, "hey, if you ever want to talk, my door's open." He nodded and followed his wife out the door. Rick frowned, 'no matter what Gray wants to name that baby, it's still going to end up as Blossom or something,' he sighed and turned back to the egg detector, 'now about the festival.'

"Cari," Ann called as she chased her daughter around the field, "it's time to go to bed." The little girl laughed and kept crawling for all she was worth. "Cliff," she called, "put your daughter to bed," she said as she headed inside, "she had been feeling tired lately and had a feeling she was in for another little mouth to feed. She entered her room and saw Gray sitting on her bed. "Gray, what are you doing?" she asked quietly, as she sat next to him.

He sighed, "Ann, Popuri wants to move away from the ranch." She frowned, after their mother had died, Gray had been her rock, and he'd continued to take care of her even as adults.

"Are you going to?" she asked, slowly.

He nodded, "I think so,"

Ann bit her lip, "but Gray, I don't want you to go." He nodded, "and what about Cari, what will she do without her uncle Gray?"

He laughed, "We aren't leaving the village," he pointed out. She nodded, "what about Cliff? Are you really going to trust her to my Cliff?"

He sighed, "Ann, you're making this difficult," she bit her lip, 'okay, so I am, but I don't want him to leave now, selfish bitch as I am, I want him to stay,' she sighed again, 'it's time to bring out the big guns,' she thought.

"I think I might me pregnant again," she said quickly. His jaw dropped and he stared at her, "are you sure?" She shook her head, not for certain; I have an appointment with the midwife tomorrow."

He nodded, "Ann, if you're pregnant, there is no way I'm leaving you to your incompetent husband." She laughed and hugged her brother, normally she would reprimand him for calling Cliff incompetent, but this time, his dislike for her husband had come through for her. He stood, "goodnight, I'll see you in the morning."

She smiled, "night."

Karen sighed as her cousin paced in front of her, "what if she's pregnant," he said nervously, "I don't think I can take the pressure."

She stood up and sat him down, "You're making me dizzy," she said in a frustrated voice, 'I've never been good at advice,' she thought. "So what if she's pregnant, you didn't think you'd be able to take care of Cari, and now you can tuck her in and everything."

He stood again, "she's two years old; it took me two years to learn how to put my daughter to bed." Then his mouth dropped, "what if it's a boy? I'll have to learn everything all over again."

She put a hand to her head, 'he's giving me a headache,' she thought. "What do you mean what if it's? You don't even know if she's pregnant yet."

He sighed and sat back down, "You're right, she probably not, it's just a false alarm." He stood and turned towards the door to her room, "thanks for your advice," he said as he disappeared thought the door. Karen sighed, she'd know Ann for a long time, and she was Cari's godmother, 'he's doomed, Ann is definitely pregnant.'

Jack watched as his son helped Elli clear the dishes from the table. He grinned, and thanked himself for the millionth time for not taking his father's offer and working for him. He got up and walked over to the sink where Cody was drying the dishes as his mother passed them to him. He put his arms around Elli, "why don't you go take a bath, Cody and I can take care of this," he turned to his son, "right squirt?" the boy nodded vigorously, at age five, he was eager to help his parents in any way possible.

"Gee, I don't know, are you sure you guys can handle it?"

Jack grinned, "I single handedly restored the farm didn't I?"

She laughed, "Single handedly?"

He grinned, and scratched his head, "If I remember correctly," he said and nodded, "yeah, single handedly." She laughed and hit him with the towel, "no wait something's coming back to me," she laughed, "I distinctly remember Mr. Green helping me."

She playfully punched him in the shoulder, "maybe I will go take that bath now."

He nodded, and turned to his son, "let's show your mother how good we are at this, he said as he scooped up a dish and threw it up into the air intent on impressing the young lad. Instead it fell to the floor, and crashed into many pieces.

"What was that?" Elli called from the bathroom.

Jack grinned nervously, "it was nothing," he said, but Cody had already run into the bathroom.

Jack sprinted after him only to hear, "and it fell, and Daddy broke it."

He gave her a sheepish grin and Elli sighed, "I guess I won't be taking a bath after all."

"Hey, Maria," she heard Harris call her, "what do you make of this?" She walked over to the bed and sat next to him.

"What do you mean?" He pulled a letter out of his pocket; it had no address and merely said, 'To Flower Bud Village'. She took it from him and examined it. "I guess it's for my dad," she said slowly, "I'll go show it to him."

He shook his head, "no, you stay here; I'll show it to him." She sighed, she was eight months pregnant and Harris was getting to her. He wouldn't even let her leave the house, except to work at the library and attend church. Her bug collection was suffering horribly. She watched him leave and then followed, she was curious about the letter, and her neurotic husband was not going to make her miss the excitement. She stepped into the living room and sat on the couch next to Harris, across from her parents. They all turned to her father who was tearing open the envelope. He pulled out the slip of paper and stared at it confused, it contained only three words, 'Is Cliff There?'

He sighed, as she passed it around, "I wonder what that's about?"

Maria nodded, "should we send a response?"

Her mother nodded, "we should," she pointed to the envelope, "look it's from the inn in Forget-Me-Not Valley," she said. "Send it back to Tim and ask what it was about."

He nodded, "you're right," he turned to Maria and Harris, "do you guy's agree?"

Harris nodded but Maria hesitated, "shouldn't you tell Cliff?" she asked.

Her mother shook her head, "I don't think that's necessary, Tim won't let anyone harmful come our way."

Her father nodded, " there's no need to worry him, let's just keep this to ourselves."

"So?" he asked as his wife entered the barn, she looked at him, and then at Gray to whom she nodded. Cliff turned and kicked a hole through the wall, before going over and hugging his wife.

Gray glared at him, "you need to fix that," he said angrily, "today."

Cliff waved him off and led Ann outside to where Cari was playing with a cow. "Cari, we have something to tell you," she said smiling.

Cliff nodded, "and it's important, so can you play with the cow later?" Cari turned to her parents and Ann bent over and scooped her up. She brought her over next to the fence and the three of them sat on the grass, "Cari, you know how Aunty Popuri is having a baby?"

Cari nodded, "in tummy," Cliff nodded, "yeah, in tummy." Ann smiled, "how would you feel if mommy was having a baby growing in mommy's tummy?"

Cari stared at her, and then smiled, she turned to look at Ann's stomach, "hi baby, me big sissy." Ann laughed and turned to Cliff who looked quite shocked at the whole ordeal.

He stood up and started walking away. Ann stood and called after him, "where are you going?"

He turned and sighed, "I need to visit Karen."

"What did Cliff want?" Karen turned and saw her fiancée looking at her.

"Ann's pregnant," she said slowly, "you should probably make up the extra room."

He raised an eyebrow, "and why would I do that?"

She sighed, "Because when Ann had Cari, she threw Cliff out of her house."

Kai gulped, "Karen, when we get married, let's not have kids."

She smiled, "and why wouldn't we? Surely you aren't afraid of little old me."

He grinned; "of course not, it's just that you and Ann are pretty close…." he trailed off.

She smiled and kissed him, "don't worry, when we have kids, you can sleep in the wine cellar." He sighed, and kissed her back, "let's get married," he said, as he pulled away from her."

She smiled, "Kai, we are getting married."

He laughed, "I know, but I mean right now."

She smiled and hit him upside the head, "we'll get married, when you get some work ethic." He sighed, 'I'm going to die single.'


	2. Crisis

Harris held the tiny bundle in his arms as he watched his wife sleep. It had been a month since they had received the mysterious letter, and nothing had happened. 'Well, nothing bad that is,' he thought glancing at his small son. He smiled when the tiny child started to move, his eyes opened and Harris looked into the eyes of his son for the first time, his face broke into the biggest smile he assumed he'd ever wear, as his son's curious eyes traveled around the room. He started to whimper, and Harris could only guess that he was hungry. He went over to his wife's bed and touched her arm. She slowly opened her eyes, "Hi honey," she said sleepily, "what time is it?"

He grinned, "It's time for this little guy to have his first meal."

She smiled, and took the child from him, "what are we going to name him?"

He grinned, he and Maria had been married for six years until she had finally gotten pregnant, "how about Saul?" She nodded, as she fed her baby, "that's sounds like an excellent name." He nodded and smiled at his family, 'I am the happiest man alive,' he thought before leaving; he wanted to share the news of his son's birth with the world.

Rick sighed as he stared at the machine on his counter; it had failed him again at the Egg Festival. He sighed again, 'perhaps I should try and find the eggs the same way as everyone else,' he thought as he brought in over to the shelf, where it would stay until the next fall. He sat down, and stared at the empty shelf along the wall. He had enough money to get by on at least until retirement, but it gave him a sense of emptiness, not having anything to sell. He sighed, 'I need to think of something brilliant,' he thought. He looked up as the door burst open, "hey Harris, I have nothing left to sell."

Harris shook his head, "Maria…had baby….Saul."

Rick laughed at the obviously out of breath mailman. "That's great Harris; I guess it's a boy?"

He nodded, "yeah, a son." Rick grinned, Harris was obviously overcome with happiness, he reached down under the table and pulled out a bottle of wine, 'Door to Heaven,' the label read.

Harris' eyes grew wide, "Heaven's Gate?"

Rick smiled, "well, it's a very special occasion, it's not everyday our best mailman gets a son." Harris smiled appreciatively and accepted a glass of the rare wine. Rick sighed before raising his glass to Harris' in a toast, he had been saving it but…, 'well, there really is no more reason to,' he thought, and they gulped down the toast.

Kent sat at his grandfather's side; he had taken ill, and doubted he would recover. "Where is Stu?" Kent sighed, his brother refused to accept the fact that their grandfather was dying, and May was reluctant to press the issue.

"He's at Moon Mountain with May," he said quietly. His Grandfather jerked his head in, what Kent assumed, was a nodding gesture. He sighed, it had taken him awhile but he had accepted the fact that his grandfather was going to die. 'Is this how Jack felt?' he wondered, as he sat at his bedside. He had trained him in the art of medicine, and Kent knew it was only a matter of days. 'Stu, please be here,' he thought, 'be here for him when it happens.' He turned when the door opened, "it's about time, Stu," he said without turning around.

"Kent?" He turned and saw Jack standing in the doorway, "how is he?"

Kent turned back to his grandfather who was now sleeping, "he seems comfortable enough," he said sadly. Jack walked over and stood next to him, "Jack, when he goes, Stu and I will have to leave this house, won't we?"

Jack sighed, and put a hand on his shoulder, "probably, but you can always come back," he said quietly.

Kent nodded, and squeezed his grandfather's hand. When he had been younger, he had idolized Jack; he wanted a big farm, with lots of cows and sheep. Then as the years progressed, he had started following his grandfather to the mountains, searching for herbs. When he'd been old enough, it had been he, who'd entered the mine looking for the pontana root. Soon after that, he'd become his grandfather's apprentice, and now… He sighed, 'I'm not ready to be master of my trade,' he thought. He felt Jack's grip tighten on his shoulder, he looked up and smiled, Jack had been young when he'd left the village, but when his grandfather was dying, he'd come back, and was now the most prosperous farmer in the region. Both their eyes were diverted back to the old man lying in the bed, when he started to struggle for breath. "Grandpa?" Kent said urgently, "can you hear me?" The old man nodded, and Kent removed the pillow from underneath his head, trying to open his airway. His grandfather's hand held his in a death grip as he struggled to breath, he turned to Jack, "brother, go find Stu, and bring him here," he said desperately, "he's at the mountain." He heard the door slam a moment later. "Grandpa, I'm right here, you're going to be fine." He said, as he sat next to the man who'd raised him. 'There's nothing I can do,' he thought. When the old man's body stilled on the bed, Kent panicked, "Grandpa?" he shouted desperately, "Grandpa?" he saw his hand move slightly, and relaxed, "grandpa?" he asked quietly, "can you still hear me?" The old man nodded, and opened his mouth to speak. Kent stopped, him, "don't try and talk grandpa, Stu is on his way, it's going to be fine."

The old man shook his head, "Take care of the shop Kent, the villagers need you." Kent nodded, "and take care of Stu, he worries me…" Kent nodded again, "tell him, that flowers are like life, truly beautiful. Take care of yourself boy; nothing could save this old man." Kent bit his lip, and nodded, "I'll see you, next summer, when the fireflies fly."

Kent felt his hand go limp, and buried his face into his grandfather's body. 'He's gone,' he thought, 'it's just me and Stu now.' Thinking of Stu, he stood up, 'damn him, he couldn't even be here when it happened,' he thought as he turned over the table. The door opened and Stu ran in, with Jack and May behind him. "Grandpa," he shouted, he turned to Kent, "what's happaned Kent? He's sleeping right? Taking a nap and you called for a false alarm, right?"

Kent shook his head, "I'm sorry Stu, he's gone." Stu put his face in his hands, and May hugged him tight to her. Jack turned to him, and pulled him into a bear hug, "would you like me to call the minister?" Kent nodded slowly; as Jack turned to May, "take care of them for me until I get back." She nodded, and turned the table back over, motioning for them to sit.

He watched Jack leave, and sat at the table. He heard May mutter something about tea. He turned to his brother, "Stu, why couldn't you be here? He needed you," he looked into his eyes, "I needed you." Stu stared at him, and pushed away from the table angrily, "well what about you? You couldn't have saved him? You trained all these years in medicine, and you didn't do a thing to save him, the man who raised you."

Kent stood, "damn it Stu, don't you think I tried? There was nothing I could do, even if I was as skilled as Grandpa, nothing could have been done to save him." Stu sat back down, and after a moment Kent joined him,

"I feel horrible," Stu whispered, "If I weren't such a kid, I could have accepted the fact that he was dying," he stared at his younger brother, "you're right, I should have been here."

Kent sighed, "he said he'll see us when the fireflies fly," he said quietly, "so I guess that means the Firefly Festival." Stu nodded, the Firefly festival was the day the spirits of the ancestors of the people of the village came back to visit from the other world, and at night, they sent firefly flowers out on the ocean to guide them back to heaven. "He told me to tell you, that flowers are like life," he said, "truly beautiful." He sighed, "You know what, I'm going to be the greatest doctor ever, and I won't let anyone die ever again."

Stu smiled at him, "that's a big dream bro," he said, "but you said, nothing could have saved him." Kent sighed, "You had to burst my bubble," he said. He looked up as May came over and sat with them.

"How are you guys doing?" she asked quietly as she passed around the tea.

Kent sighed, "I'm sure we've all been better," he said quietly. May nodded, and looked understandably upset. Her grandmother was the same age as their grandfather, and she was noticeably worried.

Stu obviously noticed it to, because he hugged her, "don't worry, I'm sure your grandmother will burry us all."

She smiled and hugged him back, "Stu, we need to figure out what we're going to do, the Mayor won't let us stay here by ourselves." Stu nodded and was about to answer when Jack walked in.

"The Minister is on his way, he just needed to make a few arrangements first. Kent nodded, as Jack sat with them, "so, I feel horribly asking this, but have you two given any thought to where you're going to live?"

Kent nodded, "we were just discussing that now," he said.

Jack nodded, "we don't have a lot of room, but you can both stay with Elli and I for the time being, I know Cody would love having you there." He turned to his brother who nodded, he turned back to Jack, "thanks, we'll take you up on that."

Elli turned when she thought she heard the door open, it was very late, and Cody was already in bed. She sighed when she realized that it was only the wind. She glanced at the dishes she'd been washing, and sighed; Jack hadn't been this late coming home since the day Cari had been born. She smiled, Cliff had been so worried, he'd begged Jack to stay with him, and the girl hadn't been born until three in the morning. She dropped the dish she'd been holding, 'did Maria go into labor?' she sighed and bent to pick up the pieces before Cody decided to he was thirsty and cut himself on the glass. When she was done she went back into the main room and turned on the TV, 'I'm going to stay awake until he comes home, and if he's been at the bar this whole time, he can sleep with Cody in his room.' She whipped when she heard the door open again. This time her husband stepped inside. "Elli? Are you awake?"

She nodded, "yes I'm awake; did Maria go into labor?" He stared at her, "I have no idea, but I have some bad news," She sat up straighter and looked at him, "Alden died today." She stared at him, Alden, the potion shop master, had taken care of her baby when he'd been sick with the measles.

"Oh my, honey, what about Kent and Stu?" he walked further in, and was followed by the two boys, each carrying a box, containing their belongings. "Oh," she said, and hurried over to help.

Jack, Elli, Kent, Stu, Cody, Harris, and Maria all sat out on the deck. Maria holding her tiny son in her arms. "Well," said Jack turning to his wife, "Maria really did go into labor last week."

She smiled, "a woman's intuition is never wrong. Jack smiled as his son played peek-a-boo with the baby. "So, you named him Saul?"

Harris nodded, "yeah, it seemed fitting."

Jack grinned, "You know, I have some Heaven's Gate inside, I'll go get it."

He started to get up, but Elli pushed him back done, "I'll get it honey, you stay here and enjoy yourself."

He smiled and watched his wife go, "you know, Rick gave me some door to Heaven when I told him the news too." Jack smiled, Rick seemed like the kind of guy who enjoyed the finer things in life, and Heaven's Gate was definitely fine. He turned to the boys, and sighed, they'd both been quiet and subdued since their arrival at his home a week prior. 'I can hardly blame them,' he thought, 'one of them blames himself for not being able to save him, and the other regrets not being there for him in his final moments.'

He put his hand on Stu's shoulder, "so, have you spoken to May lately?" he asked, trying to bring their minds to something light hearted.

He shook his head, "no," he muttered. He sighed, and stood when Elli arrived back with the wine, and a tray of glasses. He noticed the extra two and smiled.

He poured up the wine, and handed a glass each to two very surprised looking teenagers, "you guy's seem like you could use some cheering up," he said. They nodded, and he raised his glass, "I propose a toast, to Saul, the newest addition the Flower Bud Village. They nodded and everyone raised their glass, he grinned when he saw the boy's smile slightly.

Rhea sighed, she been all over the village and was getting tired. 'What does this village do, sleep at seven o'clock every night?' She made her way into the village proper, and heard the slight sound of music in the breeze. She shivered, 'damn, winter is so cold here,' she thought, as she made her way up the stairs into what she assumed was the Town Square. She smiled when she saw four people standing in front pf a crowd playing various instruments and dancing. She watched them as she made her way through the crowd. 'Where is he?' she wondered as she pushed her way past people, and came to empty space, 'damn it,' she thought. She sighed and watched the performers again, 'perhaps this is the wrong village?' she thought as she examined the people up front. There was a young girl with long red hair playing a flute, a boy with the same hair standing next to her playing the ocarina, and a girl with long black hair singing. She almost laughed when she reached the fourth one; he was in a strange leafy costume, behind a mask. She squinted; all she could see were the legs of the masked man before her, but those legs seemed familiar, 'Cliff?'


	3. Rhea

"I'm coming," he shouted, when the banging on his door didn't cease. He looked at the clock, 'damn, it's three in the morning.' He stood and pushed the retractable cot back into the wall. He opened the door, fully expecting to see Gray or Ann, however he was sadly mistaken. Before him stood a young woman, of about his age, in a blue skirt and matching blazer. Her hair was brown and tied back in a bun, except for one bang which hung by the side of her face. It was a soft blond. He stepped back, and let her inside, very startled by her appearance. "Rhea, what are you doing here?" he asked as he led her to a small room, housing a kitchen. He motioned for her to sit at the table, while he boiled some water to make tea. "You still haven't answered my question," he pointed out as he sat across from her.

She sighed, "I know, I'm looking for my brother, I heard he was here."

He sighed, 'I knew she wouldn't be here for me,' he looked at her, "who's your brother?" Her finger played with the loose blonde hair, "Cliff," she said slowly, "do you know him?"

He nodded, "Cliff? Yeah, he my cousin's husband."

Her eyes widened, "my little brother is married?"

He laughed, "yeah, with a daughter, and another baby on the way."

She gasped happily, "I'm an aunt," she stood up, "where are they living?" he watched her, still amazed by her preppy, professional attire.

"Green Ranch, why?" he followed her out of the tiny kitchen, and into the bedroom/shop. "Where are you going?"

"To see him of course," she said incredulously, "I've been looking for him for a year."

He sighed, 'she certainly hasn't been looking for me for a year.' He grabbed her hand as she started to leave, "you can't go now," he said slowly, "the spirit festival ran late tonight, he's probably very tired, and you can't go waking up his pregnant wife."

She sighed, "I know, but," she looked at him, "Rick, do you know where I could stay, until I buy a house?"

His eyes widened, "buy a house?"

She nodded, "I quit my job in the city; I think I'm going to stay here."

He smiled, "there's a vacancy next door, if you want to buy it."

She smiled, "that sounds nice," he nodded, "and you could stay here for the night if you want."

She grinned, "That's nice of you, but I don't think that there's enough room for two people in here."

He sighed, 'well, it was worth a try,' he thought. "You could always go where Cliff did when he first came here," he said slowly.

"Where would that be?" He grinned, 'she's going to stay with me for sure, "Moon Mountain.

Rhea laughed as she settled herself underneath the bridge that spanned the river at Moon Mountain. 'The look on Rick's face was priceless,' she thought as she settled down on the cold ground. 'It's only three more hours till sunrise; then I can go see Cliff.' She sighed, 'I'm amazed at how forgiving Rick was, I mean, I walked out on him one morning, for him to never hear from me again until one winter morning at three in the morning I show up on his doorstep.' She sighed, 'He was just surprised is all, come tomorrow he'll hate me like he should.' She buried her face in her hands, 'damn it,' she thought. She watched the river flow past her; she smiled, and looked down at her outfit. She had been a vice president at Natsume Inc. and her boss, she smiled her boss had been named Rigby Blackwood. She laughed, 'Rigby, for the most unfarmer like person I've ever met.' She smiled, 'that's right, there's someone else I have to thank while I'm here,' she thought. Mr. Blackwood had a son, 'Jack, is his name, I do believe,' she thought, he had plans for his son to join the company, and being the only female executive, Mr. Blackwood had planned to make her his son's secretary. It had been the last in a long strain of sexual harassment incidents she'd put up with, mainly because the pay was good, and it had taken her awhile to attain her seniority. She exhaled deeply, due to divine intervention as she liked to call it; Jack had settled down in Flower Bud Village, gotten married and started a farm. 'Thanks to his obvious taste for the simpler things in life, Rhea had found herself able to keep her job, and Mr. Blackwood had gotten sued for being a sexist bastard. She laughed, she had gotten just enough from the courts to buy a house, and live comfortably for a year. The courts decision hadn't gone through until earlier that year, which is why she'd been unable to seek out her younger brother. 'I really let you down Cliff,' she thought as the sun started to rise.

Elli set the breakfast on the table, the boys had been with them for a week, and the tension between them was very apparent. They had been a great help to Jack, with the animals and vegetables, in the green house, but their unhappiness was contagious, so the farm was dipped in gloom. She left the kitchen to call everyone for breakfast, Jack was still asleep on their bed, and the three boys were in Cody's room. She called everyone and they ran to the table. She turned to Cody, "sweetie, how would you like to come with me to visit Uncle Jeff today?"

The little boy nodded, and Jack turned to Kent and Stu, "we have a big day today, it's time to prepare the soil for planting and I could really use your help."

Stu nodded, but Kent was reluctant, "I need to go the mines," he said quietly, "I've almost run out of Pontana Root."

Jack nodded but Elli turned to him, "Kent could I see you in the other room?"

He nodded, and she walked past her husband, who grabbed her hand, "its okay Elli, let him go to the mine, Stu and I can handle it." She shook him off, 'the tension between him and his brother is driving me crazy,' she thought. She led Kent out into the main room and sat him down on her bed.

Rick waited in the kitchen while Rhea changed into some clean clothes. 'Why am I helping her?' he wondered as he listened to her rummaging through her suitcase. 'She as good as left me at the alter for fifteen years,' he sighed, 'because I've never looked at another girl since,' he realized, 'and Rhea, she's special.' The door opened and she poked her head inside the room, "I'm ready," she said happily, he nodded and went into the main room. He smiled; gone was the executive suit and uptight hairstyle. She was wearing jeans, with a matching jacket and a white shirt underneath. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail with the same blonde bang hanging down. He motioned to the door, and they left the humble house.

"Well, where to first?"

She smiled, "it's only around what, seven in the morning? I'd like to give Cliff a little more time to sleep; can we go to the mayor's house? I'd like to buy that house you were telling me about." He nodded and they started walking through the village. They made their way to lower Flower Bud Village, where he saw May outside with her cats.

He stopped, "May, how are Kent and Stu doing?"

She sighed, "I'm not sure, they've been helping Jack on the farm, but Kent is so angry with Stu for not being there, and Stu blames Kent for not being able to save him." Her shoulders slumped, "I hope they can put this behind them."

He nodded, "I'm going to visit Jack later, I'll check on them for you," she smiled, "thanks Rick," she then turned to Rhea, who she'd just noticed, "I'm May, nice to meet you."

She held out her hand which Rhea shook, "Rhea, I'm a friend of Rick's." She nodded, "well, we'd better get going, nice meeting you May." Rick sighed, 'I'm back at friend now? I guess fifteen years is a pretty big absence.' "Who are Kent and Stu?" she asked, as they made their way up to the mayor's front door.

He smiled, "you must remember Kent and Stu, they were just tiny when you were here, but Alden, their grandfather and caregiver died recently; they've been staying at Jack's house since then."

She nodded, "Jack Blackwood?"

He frowned, "you know him?"

She shook her head, "his father, I used to work for him, before I sued his ass eight years ago, but it took so long for the courts to settle it, that's why I didn't start my search for Cliff until a year ago," she smiled, "but what are we doing talking out here? I have a house to buy."

He nodded and knocked on the door. Harris answered, "Hey, I was just on my way out." He turned to Rhea, "and who might this be?" he asked.

She smiled, "Rhea, so, you must be the mailman?"

He nodded, "yep, name's Harris." She smiled, "well, if you'll excuse us Harris, I was hoping to buy a house this morning." He smiled and moved to let them through, 'wow, I wonder if anyone else remembers her, or if I'm the only one,'

Rick thought as he sighed and they went inside, "Mr. Mayor?" He called, the door opened and the mayor's wife stepped into view, "Alma, hey, my friend was wondering if she could buy a house?"

She nodded and led her over to the table. "My name is Alma, I'm the mayor's wife, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said as she took out some documents.

Rhea nodded, "my name is Rhea, I'm Cliff's sister."

She looked at her, "did you by chance send a letter here a little more than a month ago, asking about him?"

She smiled, "you got it? Great, I couldn't wait for a response from here because I got a few from some neighboring villages," she laughed, "apparently Cliff is a pretty common name."

Alma smiled, "well, have you been to see him yet?" She laughed, "of course you have, otherwise you wouldn't be here to buy a house." Rick grimaced, 'just what I need, the mayor's wife to unknowingly send the most amazing, yet infuriating person, away forever.'

He cleared his throat, "well, actually, she wwas going to surprise him," he turned to her, "right?"

She nodded, "yes, I was going to surprise him," she said, "so how about those papers?"

"Kent, are you happy staying here?" she asked him. He looked at her, and nodded, she opened her mouth and waited to hear the 'well you'd better start pulling your weight' speech. Instead she sat next to him, "are you sure, because if you're not, we can always find you other arrangements."

He looked at her, and smiled, he stood up and walked over to the window, she joined him. "You know Elli, when I was younger and first met Jack, this was all I ever wanted, to own a big farm, with lots of animals to care for." He sighed, "Elli, I need to keep studying, grandpa told me, right before he went, that the village needed me, that they needed someone to take care of them when they're sick," he looked at her, "when Cody was sick, it was Grandpa who took care of him, right? What would you have done if there was no one to call when that sort of thing happened?"

She smiled, "I probably would have gone insane, it was Jack who thought to call him, while I had a great big panic attack." They chuckled a bit, and then he sighed, "Stu blames me you know, for not being able to save him," he hung his head, but then looked straight at her, "that's why I have to keep studying, and keep learning, so that I'll be able to help everyone."

She smiled, "well then, I guess Jack and Stu will have to handle preparing the fields without you." He grinned, "Thanks Elli," he said she nodded, "you better not let me down young man," she said while her eyes laughed, he nodded, "I won't," she smiled. "I know." He watched her head back into the kitchen, 'she's right, I do need to study, but first I need to find somewhere else to live, the tension Stu and I are putting in this house just isn't fair.' He sighed, and watched Jack and Stu leave out through the back door, "then I'll be the best doctor this region has ever seen."

"Did someone say doctor?" the boy turned at the sound of her voice and she smiled, "You must be Kent, it's been forever since I've seen you."

He walked over to her, "who are you?" he asked slowly.

She laughed, 'of course he doesn't remember me,' she thought, "I lived here when you and your brother were just babies," she said. "My name's Rhea," she noticed his bewilderment and grinned, "I'm here with Rick, he's outside talking to Jack, so I thought I'd come in and say hi."

He nodded, "would you like something to drink?" He asked, leading her into the kitchen, she nodded and he went to the fridge, she sat at the table and watched him.

He came and sat next to her, "sorry if you're looking for Elli, she's outside doing laundry."

She nodded, and then smiled, "Little Elli? She was just a child when I saw her last, imagine her all grown up and married," she sighed and grinned at him, "I must be getting old." He looked horrified at the idea, "what, no way, you can't be older than thirty," he said.

She grinned, "thirty-two," she corrected.

He looked her over, "you look way younger than that," he said stubbornly.

She laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment." She sipped her water, "so how old are you?"

He sighed, "Seventeen," he said. She laughed, "And you want to be a doctor?" He nodded and looked at her almost defiantly; she fought the urge to laugh. "You looked so depressed when I came in, what's the matter, didn't you get into medical school?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "medical school?"

She laughed, "Well how else are you going to become a doctor?"

He sighed, "My grandfather was training me, but he got sick, so I have to continue my training on my own."

She out a hand on his shoulder, "Kent, I'm sorry about your grandfather, but don't blaming yourself, your brother couldn't be further from the truth." He stared at her, "How does everybody know about that?" he asked looking at her.

She smiled, "we ran into a young girl named May this morning," she said slowly.

He nodded, "then I guess it's alright to tell you, I'm thinking about leaving."

She blinked, 'leaving?' she cocked her head to the side, "what do you mean?"

He sighed, "I need to find new living arrangements, he said slowly, the strain between Stu and I isn't fair to Elli or Jack."

She nodded, "well, where are you planning to go?"

He shook his head, "I don't know, Jack's the only person I know well enough to move in with," he said quietly, "but I don't want Stu to leave." He sighed again, and Rhea pulled him into a hug, "you don't know me that well, but I just a bought a house, and I don't think I'm enough to fill it."

She said slowly, he looked up, "you mean, you'd let me move in with you?"

She nodded, "yeah, I'm a lonely old hag, I could use the company."

He smiled, "thanks, but you were kidding about the old hag thing right? Because for 32, you're really hot."

She cocked an eyebrow at him, "for 32? really know how to charm a lady Kent..."


End file.
